


Promises

by Keirra



Series: Swtor Prompts and Shorts [18]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, Fluff, l love yous whispered to caff, you know the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 07:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15505302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keirra/pseuds/Keirra
Summary: Torian and Noara take some time away from the Alliance to go hunting on a snowy world, but the cold makes her reluctant to get out of her warm bed.





	Promises

The smell of fresh caff stirred Noara from her sleep. Really she had been half awake for sometime, but she could feel the chill in the air around her that said it had snowed more during the night and she wasn’t prepared to leave the warm cocoon of her blankets. It had been colder than she imagined when they landed on Toola the night before. As soon as she and Torian had gotten checked into their rented room she had bedded down in the surprisingly plush bed and as far as she was concerned she could spend the whole trip there. 

She heard the distinct sound of Torian walking toward the bedroom and pulled the blanket over her head, hoping he would think she was asleep and not try and drag her out of bed to start his hunting trip early. She stayed very still as he entered the room, walking around to his side of the bed.

“Good morning cyar’ika, are you staying in bed all morning?” He asked, a hint of amusement that said he definitely knew she was awake, and she felt the mattress dip as he sat on the edge. Slowly he pulled the blanket down to uncover her face.

“I was thinking about it, it’s cold out there,” she said, shrugging sheepishly up at him.

He smiled at her, “it’s not that cold once you are up and dressed.”

“Ahh but I’m warm now,” she said before sending him a sly look. “You could always join me and we can be warm together.”

Torian laughed, shaking his head, “who am I to argue with logic like that?” He scooted back and swung his legs back up onto the bed as Noara lifted the blanket. Instead of lying down, he leaned back on the pillows piled up against the headboard. He lifted his arm and Noara moved over to curl up against his side.

“Would you like your caff?” He gestured at the steaming mug of caff he had left on the bedside table. “I made it just the way you like, brought the caff grounds from home.”

The look she gives him is answer enough and he stretches to reach the mug and pass it to her. Noara sighed happily as her already cold hands were warmed by the mug’s heat. “I love you,” she sighed, her attention obviously more on the caff than on the Mandalorian she was pressed up against. He didn’t react, other than to smile fondly and retrieve his own mug.

Now that she was sitting up she could see out the window and confirm that not only had it snowed more, it was still snowing heavily. Just thinking about how cold it would be out there made her want to shiver and she pressed slightly closer to Torian’s warmth.

“Is this storm going to be around long enough to affect your plans?”

Torian shook his head, “shouldn’t. We got here early, by the time Corridan shows it should have blown over. Fresh snow should make tracking easier.”

Noara hummed thoughtfully, before sipping carefully at her drink. “And I am along for this winter hunting trip why again?”

“Special request, said the only way he was gonna met you was if he asked for his birthday.”

“I told him he could meet me whenever he wanted, all he had to do was visit us.” Noara sighed, “some people just have to be difficult.”  Torian laughed and they lulled into a comfortable silence.

There was something about quiet winter moments, even on a planet like Toola that was always in the dead of winter. It was like the mere presence of the snow insulated everything, making it easier to forget that there was a whole world of people outside the door. Easier to feel like the only people in existence was the two of them.

And if the galaxy stopped at their door, so did their responsibilities.

Here she wasn’t Jedi Master Noara Starspark, Commander of the Alliance and the one person everyone expected to save the galaxy. Again. And he wasn’t the Head of Clan Cadera, Official Mandalorian Liaison to the Alliance. They weren't people born on opposite sides of a never ending war.

Here they were just what mattered, they were a man and a woman who found each other in insane circumstances and fell in love. Two people who just wanted to the chance to build a life together.

“Do we need to go back?” Noara asked quietly, breaking the silence.

“What?”

She sighed heavily. “Do we have to go back? I don’t want to be in charge of running a war anymore Torian, never wanted to in the first place.”

Shifting to see her face better he asked her seriously, “what do you want?”

“I want...a life, not a job. A home, not a temple, not a military base.” She smiled sadly, “I want a garden, and a big shady tree to read under in the summer sun but most of all I just want to be with you. I don’t want to carry so much responsibility for the entire galaxy that I feel guilty for going on a short trip with you because there is work I could be doing. Work I  _ should _ be doing.”

Torian didn’t respond right away, instead he looked at her carefully for a few moments - looking like he was trying to come to a decision but she had no idea what it might be.

At length he smiled and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before settling his hand at the back of her neck. His fingers gently massaged the back of her head and she made a soft pleased sound. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, had this idea about waiting for the perfect moment but I can’t think of a better one. I can’t give you everything you want, at least not right now, but I love you. I want to spend my life with you. There’s nothing I could want more.”

Noara frowned, trying to figure out where he was going with this. The last time he had looked so serious while talking about their relationship was the first time he told her that he loved her. When she drew a blank she asked, “what are you saying?”

He turned away from her, returned his caff mug to the table, and then took her’s as well. When he turned back to face her he took her hands in his, lacing their fingers. “Noara, cuyir ner riduur? Marry me?”

For a heartbeat, one she can hear loudly in her ears, she can’t breathe. When she remembers how, her breath comes out in a surprised giggle. She lunged forward, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. “Yes, of course I will.” Her lunge ended with her sprawled across his lap, and from there it was easy enough to shift and straddle his hips. Her mouth found his, kissing him firmly before he could say anything in return.

He pulled her closer, a hand on her lower back encouraging her to grind down on his lap, and the other in her hair as he returned her kiss with equal fervor.

Still breathless from the shock, Noara pulled away to catch her breath. “We’re getting married.”

He nodded, grinning, “yeah. We are.”

She hugged him again, lying her face close to his neck - close enough he could feel the warmth of her breath when she said, “Noara Cadera. I like that.”

They sat like that for a while, letting the events of the moments before settle in their minds. Torian had wanted to ask her for ages to be his wife, almost from the moment he learned she loved him back, but he hadn’t intended on doing it now - not while so much depended on her. But this felt right, and maybe it was what she needed to help her accomplish the near impossible goals the galaxy had laid at her feet. And he  _ wanted _ this. It was on par with his desires to confront his father, to restore his clan, something that was so important to who he was that there was no question if he would do it only when.

Part of him had known when they met that Noara would change everything for him, and she had. And they were good changes, his life felt brighter with her, lighter, as if she had drawn back the curtain that had hung over him his entire life from his father’s actions. He’d stepped out of that shadow as a young man, earned the respect of Mandalore herself, but it wasn’t until Noara was at his side he felt the darkness truly fade.

He wanted her light in his life for however long he still had.

Noara moved, pulling away just far enough to see his face, and drawing him from his thoughts.

“I just realized, with all the Mandalorian stuff you have been teaching me you haven’t told me anything about Mandalorian weddings. How do they work? Do I need a dress? To plan a party, go all bridezilla like on those realityholos?”

“No,” he said, “thankfully. All we need to do is exchange the marriage vows.”

She frowned, “that’s it? No witnesses? No paperwork? No officiant?”

“And where would we file that paperwork? We have anyone regulating our lives, Mandalorians don't have time for that,” he laughed.

“When can we do this?”

“That’s the beauty of it Noara, whenever we want. We could even do it now, right here, and it’s as official any marriage registered with the Empire or Republic.

“Now?” Noara’s eyes were wide, her voice breathy, and Torian was worried he was moving to fast. That he was scaring her away. He should have realized that suggesting this moment wouldn’t give her enough time to sort through her emotions and know what she wanted.

“If you want, there’s no rush,” he said, before a thought struck him. “Though I would love to introduce you to Corridan as my wife. Then I’d know he’ll behave.”

Noara laughed in his lap, reaching up to ruffle his hair some. “an ulterior motive, I should have guessed.”

“No ulterior motive, just a man who loves you dearly and wants to spend everyday from now on with you.”

Torian’s words stole the humor from her face, leaving her looking intense and serious. “I want that too,” she said quietly. She moved off his lap and sat down next to him, this was a serious moment and she always had trouble being serious when they were so close physically.  “Teach me the vows, I want to say them properly.”

Torian had been teaching her the language since that first night on Darvannis, random words and numbers in between drinks, and while she had improved a lot she still had a long way to go before being fluent. He could have said his vows first, promising himself to her, and taught her how to respond but he wanted her to know what he was saying when he became her husband - he wanted her to understand the weight of the words first. Wanted her to know what he was promising her. Then they could do it together.

The way it should be.

“The vows aren’t long, just four promises we make to one another. Ready? Mhi solus tome,” he said, after she nodded and helping her repeat it several times before translating. ”We are one together.”

She smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

He nodded, “I do too. 

“Mhi solus dhar'tome.” He brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she said the words 

After she was satisfied she was pronouncing it correctly, she tried to translate it herself. “We are one… separated?”

“Very close, we are one when parted,” he corrected. “No distance is greater than riduurok, our love bond. Mhi me'dinui an. We share all.”

Noara laughed, “we already do that one. What’s the last one?”

“Mhi ba'juri verde. We will raise warriors.”

“Oh,” she breathed, her cheeks reddening. “I hadn’t thought about children. I'm not sure I'm ready for that ” She bit her lip and frowned.

Cupping her cheek, he pulled her lip out from under her teeth with his thumb, “we don't have to do that right away, or we can adopt. We have time cyar’ika. Okay?”

She nodded her head. “okay, someday.”

Before he could ask if she was sure she wanted to do this now, she sat up straighter and took his hand in hers. She lifted it to her mouth and kissed his knuckles before pressing his palm to her chest, above her heart. He could feel her heartbeat, racing with the excitement he could see shining in her eyes.

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde." 

She spoke the words slowly to make sure she got the pronunciation right. If there was ever something she wanted to get right it was this. When she finished she was beaming. 

Torian used his free hand to cup the back of her head and gently pulled her into a kiss. When he broke the kiss he moved his hand from her chest, caught the one she had been holding his with, and mirrored her earlier action by pressing her palm to his chest. He wanted her to know his heart was racing too.

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde." 

When he finished they stared at each other for a beat, a split second with the racing of their hearts, before they were falling back into the bed. Noara giggled as he hovered above her, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair. 

“And we are married, just like that?”

Torian ducked down to kiss her quickly, “just like that riduur.”

“I like the way that sounds,” she said, humming happily. “Remember asking me if I was staying in bed all morning?

“Yeah?”

“I don't think there is a Force in the galaxy that could get me out of this bed,” she smiled, “and I am going to have to insist that my husband keeps me company. 

He groaned and rolled to the side to stare up at the ceiling. “Married not even five minutes, already bossing me around.”

“Admit it, you love it,” she laughed. 

Torian turned his head to smile at her. He didn’t know when he had last seen her so happy, lying among the blankets and scattered pillows, calling him  _ her _ husband. He decided to ask her months ago, had waited and tried to find the perfect moment. The words had been on the tip of his tongue time and time again, but something would convince him it wasn’t the time. 

Now he realized that it wasn’t the circumstances that made this moment perfect, it was her. It was the way her eyes had lit up when she realized what he had asked, the joy in her laugh when she accepted, it was how she’d bit her lip in concentration when he was teaching her the vows. Noara was everything he could have wished for and he should have married her the day he realized that.

But this moment was too perfect to waste on regrets. 

“I do,” he said, pulling her across the bed to him, planning to show her just how much he loved it.

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> Cyar’ika - sweetheart, darling  
> Cuyir ner riduur - Be my wife  
> Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde - Mandalorian wedding vows: We are one together, we are one when parted, we share all, we will raise warriors  
> Riduur - spouse, wife/husband


End file.
